


Supply Drops

by herrib



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: F/F, a little bit sad, a little bit soft, a lot of yearning, and pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:15:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23316019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/herrib/pseuds/herrib
Summary: Winters in Jackson were bleak, as bleak as it could be considering the circumstances. Unforgiving blizzards and biting cold pushed a majority of the community indoors, give or take the few who volunteered to venture out of the safety of Jackson’s walls out of sheer boredom alone. More often than not, Ellie was one of them.
Relationships: Dina/Ellie (The Last of Us)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 91





	Supply Drops

**Author's Note:**

> my state is under lockdown for covid-19 currently, so i'm stuck inside. figured i'd try to give fics a shot, since i've never done it before. this is my first time so i thought i'd post it. i think i'm going to do a series of one shots and get comfortable doing this before i write something more substantial. enjoi :-)

Winters in Jackson were bleak, as bleak as it could be considering the circumstances. Unforgiving blizzards and biting cold pushed a majority of the community indoors, give or take the few who volunteered to venture out of the safety of Jackson’s walls out of sheer boredom alone. More often than not, Ellie was one of them. She couldn’t be cooped up indoors when the snow started to fall. It made her uneasy. Understandably so.

Her latest round of resource searching didn’t yield much. She ventured further off the beaten path each time, whenever Joel wasn’t scheduled to go with her of course. Ellie didn’t inform anyone of the small store she had found in the prior weeks. It was tucked into a more remote dirt road, likely for the campers who frequented the cabins and ski slopes in the area before the entire world went to shit. She didn’t feel particularly guilty about her secret either, as the building was almost entirely collapsed at the entrance, caving in on itself from a lack of maintenance. It had gone virtually untouched since the outbreak. It wasn’t hard for Ellie to convince herself that the others would’ve passed the structure by, and she’s totally not an asshole for not telling anyone about it, other than Dina. Dina knew everything. Plus, she knew she’d have something to bring back to Jackson every time she went on patrol. They needed something to lift their spirits during the winter when supplies inevitably started to run low, especially her.

A less than modest stock of non-perishables way beyond their written expiration date, some touristy nick-knacks, and magazines adorned the shelves inside. Like clockwork, Ellie took a bag of salt, sugar, and the last bottle of maple syrup from the shelves, along with a few gifts for Dina before catching up with the others. 

Once Ellie and the rest of the crew reached the Jackson’s doors, her routine “super secret supply drop” for Dina ensued. 

“Dina! Psst!” Ellie whispered hurriedly through clenched teeth. The wind was crisp with cold, burning her already flushed cheeks. She stood beneath Dina’s cracked second story window, shivering, up to her ankles in muddy slush. The snow was beginning to soak into her clothes, and the treacherous walk to Dina’s didn’t help her any. In that moment she cursed herself for telling Joel she didn’t need the second coat he had offered her before she left earlier that day. She could see the light seeping out of the window, so Ellie knew that Dina had to be waiting for her.

“Psst! Hey! Dina it’s fucking cold, are you gonna-”

Dina’s bedroom window shot upward, and she clumsily grabbed at the windowsill.

“Shh! Just fucking wait there!” Dina tried to hiss, but somewhat slurred instead, floundering with her heavy winter coat. Sleepiness was heavy on her voice. The sight of it made Ellie’s lips curl ever so slightly into a smile, taking some pride in seeing her best friend go for the coat she had snagged for her during their last patrol together even in her drowsy stupor.

“I might just die if I’m here for like, five more seconds.”

“Thank God, I’ll be down in six,” Dina chuckled.

Once Dina stepped out in her hastily thrown together winter clothes, hiking boots untied still, she led Ellie by the sleeve of her jacket to the back of the small home, to the cellar doors. Dina brushed the snow from the metal with her sleeve, pulled them open, and gesticulated dramatically and with grandeur, as if to welcome her best friend into a lavish mansion and definitely not her dank, dark basement. Ellie rolled her eyes and quickly made her way down the creaky wooden steps. Dina carefully shut both doors behind her, so as to not wake her sleeping family above them.

“So,” Dina inquired, flicking the light switch on. “What’d you steal for me this time?” 

“Not stealing, don’t call it stealing,” Ellie sighed. She made her way to the carpeted corner of the basement, throwing her bulky backpack onto the floor in front of her. The long walk in the bitter cold she had endured was finally starting to hit her. Her muscles ached from overexertion... and also a lot of shivering. She promptly hit the switch to the small space heater nearby before she started unzipping each pouch. “S’not like it’s anything important.” 

“You know the whole point of going out and finding shit is to bring it back and report it to Tommy, right? He’d probably have a stroke if he knew you weren’t writing this in the logs.”

“Shut up,” Ellie grumbled. She tried to stop her exhaustion from coming through to Dina, as much as she secretly enjoyed her mock-bullying. She knew her best friend would urge her to head home and get some sleep if she so much as yawned, as if Ellie hadn’t been looking forward to seeing her since she woke up for her shift. As if these meetings didn’t keep her going every time the colder months rolled around.

Dina sat down next to her as Ellie continued to dig through her bag. She scooted as close as she could to her best friend, her leg resting faintly against Ellie’s. The subtle touch made her blush. Ellie cursed herself for the second time that night.

“Alright,” Ellie announced, trying to distract herself from the heat rushing to her face. She pulled out several small bottles, followed by a stack of marginally water damaged books. “First, I think you’ll be really happy with these,” she picked up one of the small bottles and handed it to Dina. The clear liquid sloshed around inside. She squinted at the worn label.

“What is it?” Dina asked. Before Ellie could answer, she twisted the small cap off, tossed it aside, and held the bottle to her nose. She recoiled at first, and then instantly came to her senses. She downed the small bottle, the familiar burning sensation that only vodka can give enveloping the back of her throat and the pit of her stomach. “Ellie,” Dina spoke with faux-seriousness, stifling a giggle. She turned to her best friend and settled both hands on her shoulders, once she chucked the small shot bottle. Her gaze was heavy. “I owe you my life.”

“Just say thank you, you freak,” Ellie laughed, slapping Dina’s hands away. She missed the contact as soon as it was lost, but she didn’t want to blush any more than she already was. Ellie turned away and pretended to focus on her backpack again. “You’re an alcoholic, y’know.”

“Oh, really? You’re saying that like you’re not gonna drink with me!” Dina retorted.

“Because I’m not. It’s late anyway,” Ellie shook her head and pushed the stack of books towards her. “I got you those word searches you mentioned, Sudoku…”

“What would I ever do without you? You love me so much,” Dina smirked. She absentmindedly thumbed through the first book. 

“Sometimes.”

The two settled into their comfortable silence as curiosity and vodka overtook Dina. Ellie watched as her best friend moved to curl on the floor, books in hand. Another quiet moment that she never wanted to leave. Ellie knew she’d have to leave soon, though, to venture back out into the cold. To her home she shared with Joel. The heater had just started to help Ellie shed the last remaining bits of cold that clung to her, she had finally gotten to see Dina, but she knew she had to go. Joel was probably pretending to be asleep right now, she thought to herself. He always did that, where he’d pretend to sleep on their rickety old couch and coincidentally wake up as soon as Ellie quietly entered their home, and promptly move back to his own bed once he knew she was safe. Ellie wondered why she bothered to be quiet still, knowing his routine, but she knew it was one of the few comforts he had. Knowing his girl had come home safe. Joel worried a lot, especially now. She knew, so she’d play along. Reluctantly, she zipped the pouches of her backpack closed again.

“Leaving already?” Dina spoke softly, rubbing at her eyelids. Had Ellie waited any longer to disturb her, she likely would have fallen asleep there on the floor. 

“Yeah, I’m sorry. Can’t keep the old man waiting too long. He gets cranky.”

“Don’t sound so bummed. I think it’s cute that he waits up for you. Mom locks me out half the time if I get home too late,” Dina smiled again. “Anyway, he’s probably cranky all the time because you suck.”

“Really?” Ellie smirked. Sliding both straps around her, she stood up. It was a relief to get all of that shit out of her backpack. Nagging pain ran through her muscles once she was up, though. “I’ll keep that in mind next time I’m out on patrol.”

Dina huffed before she reached her hand out to Ellie, beckoning her to help her onto her feet. She was barely buzzed, but nonetheless sleepy. Ellie pulled her up swiftly. It was something that bothered her more often now. Her close moments with Dina were her favorite, but they were always tinged with the feeling that she was doing something exceptionally wrong. She could name the feeling Dina gave her; Ellie felt it with Riley. The feeling was there, vaguely, with Kat. Sometimes Ellie wasn’t really sure about that one. The shame, though, was new. It crept up on her whenever she remembered that Dina didn’t know how she felt. How she reveled in their time alone, how her stomach turned whenever Dina touched her, how much she thought of her best friend when they were separated. The shame ate at her. It was another secret to keep.

She tried to push the thoughts from her mind again on her way back to the cellar doors.

“Oh shit, I almost forgot,” Ellie said. She reached to the side pocket of her backpack. From it, she removed one of the nick knacks that she had taken from the store. It was a key chain, likely one made for a tourist who might have gone there before conquering the ski slopes. It was a small moose, fur and stuffing surprisingly intact. On its face, it wore a pair of over-sized ski goggles. A small snowboard was attached to the hooves. “I saw that little bear in your room the last time I slept over, I thought you’d like it,” Ellie gnawed at her lips in anticipation. The shame pricked her stomach and made its ugly presence known again. Maybe this was too weird, she thought to herself. She had to save the moment before the sensation took over her. “Dork.”

Dina’s laugh staved off the nasty feeling again.

“Shut up! I didn't know you saw that,” Dina took the small stuffed animal from Ellie’s palm and held it close. “I love him, actually. Maybe more than you.”

Heat rushed to Ellie’s cheeks again. 

“I’ll let you go. I don’t want Joel killing you before you can get me another one of these little things,” Dina’s expression softened. She leaned toward Ellie, their difference in height more apparent than ever, and wrapped her best friend into a tight embrace, resting her head against Ellie’s shoulder. “Thank you though, really. For bringing me all of this stuff and coming over so late. Sucks, not being able to see you as much.” Guilt washed over Ellie again. She prayed to anything that Dina wouldn’t feel her heart jump in her chest before she let go. Ellie felt so much all the time, she wondered if she’d drown in it.

“I’ll bring more next time, I promise.”

From there, Ellie pushed open the cellar doors, Dina wishing her goodnight close behind. A frigid breeze hit her as she made her way up the stairs, through Dina’s small backyard and into the familiar streets again. Back through the snow, alone with her thoughts. Until she was home.


End file.
